Mystery1
by Xule
Summary: Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation encounters a mysterious girl.other parts under mystery2 & mystery3 [REVIEWS PLEASE]


I

Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation sat in his room meditating. He had a very short temper, and he found that meditation calmed his nerves. During this time, he would close his eyes and concentrate on keeping the flames of the three candles in front of him burning slowly and steadily. As he did so, Zuko's emotions became gradually less volatile and he would experience a few minutes of inner peace, which he relished.

There was a familiar rapping on the door, and Zuko felt agitation growing in him, in response to this, the flames began to grow before him. "Enter." He growled.

As he expected, his uncle, General Iroh, came in through the door. Iroh spotted the meditation candles and lit incense burner on the table in front of his nephew and gave an innocent smile.

"I hope I am not disturbing you, Prince Zuko." Iroh said with a mocking air so slight that only Zuko detected it.

Zuko's eyes narrowed and the candle flames hissed and grew with his agitation. "Of course not, Uncle." He replied acidly.

"Good." Said Iroh, closing the door behind him as he stepped further into the room. "I was wondering if you would do your old uncle a favour."

Zuko gave a quiet growl. "That depends on what it is and how long it will delay us."

Iroh sat on the bed and rested his hands on his knees. "I shall answer your second question first, if you don't mind; it will only put us back a few hours at most. As for your first question; it seems that I have exhausted all my reading material, I would like to get some more. There is a market island not far from here; I am sure they will have something to my liking."

Zuko sighed; it was a fair enough request. "Alright, but if you take longer than six hours I'm leaving without you."

"Of course." Iroh replied, inclining his head in a slight bow before leaving.

A few hours later, they had landed on the sandy shore of a minute island. Iroh, Zuko and a dozen soldiers disembarked, mounted upon their enormous black rhinos. Zuko had practically been dragged off the ship by his uncle, who had insisted he would enjoy a ride under the afternoon sun, which Zuko sincerely doubted; the island was unpleasant, set under a blistering sun that burnt the back of his neck as he rode and bounced off the rocks on the ground, (which were infinite; there did not seem to be a pinch of soil on the island) half-blinding him.

"Where do you intend to buy your books?" Zuko asked, glancing around the desolate landscape. "This place is deserted. If you delayed us to come to a wretched little island _miles _off course, with no-one –"

"Patience, Zuko." Iroh interrupted. "The town is just over that ridge ahead and through a small copse of trees."

Zuko kept quiet until they had peaked the ridge and were looking down at what Iroh had described as a 'copse'. An ocean of trees spread out before them, with no breaks and no discernible end.

"It's a whole _forest!_" He shouted at Iroh, who looked at him calmly. "We are _not _going through there, it will put us _days _behind."

"No it _won't_." Iroh replied with a grin. "There is a clearing not far in, and that is where the town is. Be patient, Zuko."

Zuko held his tongue, but did not spare his uncle a glare that would have immolated him instantly had he met it. They descended the ridge with caution, picking the best path in a bed of scree. It was not long before they were under the imposing eaves of the dark forest. A wide road had been ploughed straight through the trees. A sign was nailed to a gnarled old oak. On it was carved 'Nuhu' and an arrow, which pointed down the thoroughfare.

"There." Said Iroh with a triumphant grin. "I told you we would not be delayed very long."

They had not gone ten paces into the wood before a premature dusk fell around them. Above, nets of branches strangled the sun's rays as they tried to reach the ground. Those few that reached the ground dappled the road with gold.

A movement in the forest to his right caught Zuko's eyes and he turned his head. From what he could see, something was moving about between the trees. Whatever it was, it was big, and it was moving fast. Zuko's heart jolted; it was moving straight toward him!

Before he could cry out, the Thing leaped at him, throwing him from the saddle. He hit the ground hard, crashing his head against one of the larger rocks. Spots filled his vision. He heard his men yelling, and his uncle calling "Zuko! Zuko! Are you all right Zuko? Get up!" His vision cleared and he saw a cloaked person sitting on his rhino. They snapped the reins and the rhino took off, out of the forest and toward the ridge. From the other direction, six Fire Nation soldiers sprinted around a bend in the road and straight past them shouting "Thief! Stop her! Thief!"

Zuko staggered up and began to run after the thief with the soldiers. Iroh and his own soldiers thundered alongside the group on their rhinos. The thief was already beginning to ascend the ridge, driving the rhino on with all her might. As they reached the foot of the slope, she reached the top and began to move west along the ridge.

Zuko shot forward up the ridge with a burst of energy. The gap between him and the thief was closing; his rhino was tiring. Zuko forced his legs to keep going and soon there was not much more than a yard or so separating them. Energy began to build up within him, giving him strength and growing with his anger. Finally, Zuko released the energy in the form of a fireball, which struck the thief in the back of the head, knocking her from the back of his rhino.

She hit the ground and rolled once or twice before picking herself up and running. Zuko continued the chase. Suddenly, she skidded to a halt. Zuko immediately seized his opportunity and grabbed hold of her. Pulling her away from the drop that had hindered her escape and throwing her into the arms of the soldiers. She was restrained and made to face him.

Zuko pulled the hood down from her face. Before him stood a girl of his own age, slender and pale, with long brown hair and blue eyes(a rare attribute). She was stern of face and pale, her ears were the strangest of all; long and pointed, each with six pieces of metal going right through them. At her side hung a leather satchel, bulging with loot of some sort. She barred her teeth at him and hissed, revealing four long, sharp eye-teeth.

Zuko ripped the satchel from her shoulder. As he began to open it, she cried something unintelligible and struggled against the soldiers that held her. Her strength startled them, but it was not enough to throw them off. Instead, she raised a bare foot and kicked Zuko hard in the leg.

Zuko cried out in pain and dropped the bag. It hit the ground and began to roll – straight toward the slope that had stopped the girl.

The thief yelled in dismay and jerked her body forward so violently that her captors lost their grip. She ran full-speed after the sack. She grabbed it just as it was teetering over the edge and tried to skid to a halt, but too late, the edge of the slope crumbled and she went over. Zuko cried "No!" and ran to the edge, where he and his men watched helplessly as she tumbled down the rock face, hugging the bag protectively against her chest. She reached level ground and began to roll to a stop, and there she lay lifelessly as Zuko and his men picked their way down after her.

The girl's back was to Zuko when he reached the foot of the slope, and he was unsure whether he wanted to change that. He was afraid of what he would see.

"Girl?" he said cautiously as he approached the mute bundle in the dirt.

One of the soldiers circled her and inspected what he saw before picking up the satchel. He looked at Zuko, who raised his eyebrows and nodded at the girl. The soldier nudged her with his foot and she flopped onto her back.

Zuko gasped. Her face had been ripped to shreds by the stones on the slope; her lower lip was burst and a steady trickle of blood flowed from a nasty head wound. One of her legs was splayed out straight; the other was bent at a grotesque angle, broken.

Iroh passed him and crouched beside the girl.

"She breathes still." He muttered sadly.

Zuko, relieved to hear so but unwilling to admit it, took the bag from the soldier.

"What was so important that she would throw herself down a cliff to save?" He wondered aloud, and

unstrung the neck of the bag.

Inside was a large green stone, about the size of his forearm; it had black speckles and was as glossy as it was heavy. Zuko eagerly removed the entire bag from around it. Iroh whistled and stood beside him as he turned it over in his hands, inspecting it.

"It's a pretty thing, no question about that." Iroh remarked. "But is it really worth _dying _for?"

Zuko glanced back at the girl. "To her it was." He replied.

"Look!" said his uncle, taking the stone and running his finger along a crack on the surface. "Despite all of her efforts, it still got damaged in the fall."

"That's not surprising." Said Zuko, Iroh nodded in agreement.

"Sir?" Said one of the soldiers. "What will we do with her? There are no prisons on this island."

Zuko surprised everyone, including himself, when he said. "I shall take her."

"Why so, Zuko?" Iroh asked.

_Yes, why so? _Zuko thought to himself. "Because we have spare cabins, we can lock her in one, until we reach somewhere where she can be properly detained." _Liar._ His mind accused.

II 

Back aboard his own vessel, along with an uncle robbed of some book shopping, Zuko treated the girl's injuries. Zuko was surprised to find that most of the girl's smaller cuts had healed almost completely.

"This girl is unique, there is no arguing that." Iroh said when Zuko pointed this out, and Zuko secretly agreed.

They bathed and dressed the more serious wounds and carefully set her broken leg in a sturdy splint. When they were done, they removed her filthy cloak and laid her in bed to rest.

They sat awhile by her bedside, silently watching her silent breath raise and drop her chest. About an hour passed before Iroh's curiosity got the better him. Retreating to the far corner of the room, he picked up the satchel and returned to his seat.

"Let's have another look at this." He said, and began to untie the knots that sealed it.

Zuko watched in silence, also curious to discover the hidden value of the stone, whatever made it worth dying for. In the candlelight, it glimmered like diamond. The crack, in its travels, had deepened and several new cracks had branched off from it. Iroh turned it over again and again as Zuko watched.

"Ouch!" Iroh yelped, dropping the stone. "It is hot!"

"Look!" Zuko cried suddenly, pointing at the crack. It had widened as he was looking at it, and now an iridescent light was pouring through it.

As they watched, the crack grew. It stretched the entire girth of the stone and several smaller fractures were spreading out from it. The light grew more and more intense, and Zuko and Iroh threw their arms up to shield their eyes as the outer shell of the stone crumbled and fell away completely. The light began to expand, it was now the length and shape of a boa constrictor. In the likeness of a serpent, it slithered through the air and wrapped itself around the girl. It tightened and tightened around her sleeping form, sinking gradually into her flesh. With a final burst of light, it was gone, it had found a vessel in the girl, and now it was contented.

Iroh touched the girl's brow. "She is cold." He muttered, half to himself. "But she lives still."

Zuko sat in silence as his uncle bade him good-night and departed. When he was sure that no-one would walk in on him, he dropped to his knees by the bed. He leaned in close to the girl; close enough to feel her butterfly-breath on his face.

"What was that, that which was so worth forfeiting your life to have?" He whispered. "Why is it so important?…Who are you?" He touched her cheek, then, before he could stop himself, he kissed her softly on the forehead.

Zuko felt himself being tugged forward by her. Though his body stayed where it was, his consciousness rushed forward and merged with hers. Flashes of memories rushed through his mind. A laboratory. A tank. Filled with liquid. Beneath the liquid. People. Some human, some not human.

The image contorted, the colours faded and then returned. The same lab. Loud noises. Explosions. Screams. Fire outside the tank. Liquid boiling. Body boiling. A flash. No more tank. Lying on cold ground. Lab gone. A cave instead. Rise up on one arm. Something on the arm. A number; her name.

Zuko returned to his own body. He was drenched in sweat. His head was pounding with pain. The memories were still whizzing about in his mind. He looked at the girl. What had that tattoo read? What had the number been? The number that was her name? A word came to the fore of his mind. The number. Her name.

"A'Ohni." He said aloud, nodding. "Your name is A'Ohni."


End file.
